Employee Training in Lockout or Tagout Procedures

The standard, 29 CFR 1910.147, requires that employers provide initial training and retraining as needed and must certify that the training has been done. For the purposes of the standard, there are three types of employees:

Affected

Authorized

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The amount, as well as the kind of training, that each employee receives is based upon:

The relationship of the employee’s job to the machinery or equipment that is being locked or tagged out.

The degree of knowledge relevant to hazardous energy that the employee must possess.

Training for Authorized Personnel

A training program for authorized personnel, who have the responsibility for implementing the energy control procedures and carrying out the maintenance or servicing, must, at a minimum, cover theses areas:

Recognition of applicable hazardous energy sources.

Details about the type and magnitude of the hazardous energy sources present in the workplace.

The methods and means necessary to isolate and control those energy sources.

The elements of the energy control procedures.

Training programs for authorized employees are performance oriented and should deal with the equipment, type of energy, and hazards specific to the workplace.

Authorized personnel must have the knowledge to:

Apply energy controls safely.

Be able to use and safely remove the controls.

Training for Affected and “Other Personnel”

Affected employees who are usually the machine operators or users and the “other employees” need to be able to recognize when the control procedure is in use.

They must:

Understand the purpose of the procedure.

The importance of not attempting to start up or use any tagged or locked out equipment.

Retraining

Retraining must be provided whenever there is a:

Change in job assignments.

A change in machines.

A change in equipment or processes that presents a new hazard.

A change in energy control procedures.

Retraining must also be completed when there is reason to believe an employee does not have complete and adequate knowledge of the procedures.

Required Periodic Inspections

There must be Periodic Inspections at least once a year to determine:

Whether energy control procedures are being implemented properly.

Whether employees are familiar with their responsibilities in this process.

Inspections Must Be Certified

The employer must certify that these periodic inspections are taking place.

The certification must identify the machine or equipment on which the energy control procedure was used plus the date of the inspection.

The names of the employees who took part.

The name of the person who performed the inspection.

In addition, for a lockout, the periodic inspection must include a review between the inspector and crawler excavator each authorized employee of that employee’s responsibilities under the energy control procedure.

When a tagout procedure is inspected, there should be a review on the limitations of tags as well as the other requirements for authorized personnel. This should be done with each affected and authorized employee.